


New

by middlemarch



Category: Mercy Street (TV)
Genre: American Civil War, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-01
Updated: 2016-05-01
Packaged: 2018-06-05 17:27:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6714148
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/middlemarch/pseuds/middlemarch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Something old, something new.</p>
            </blockquote>





	New

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ultrahotpink](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ultrahotpink/gifts).



“Nurse Mary, is that a new bonnet?” Jed called out across the hallway as he walked toward her. Mary had paused before the front door of Mansion House as if she looked for a mirror to check her appearance before she ventured out into the street. There was no mirror there so she simply stood for a moment, the moment Jed had caught her with his inquisitive, lively voice, the tone conveying his successful surgeries of the morning, a good rest, the bright sunshine that streamed through the windows.

“No, Dr. Foster. It’s just that I haven’t worn it in so long, haven’t been out visiting or on an errand in such a while, it feels as if it is new,” Mary replied. The bonnet in question was dark blue with a shirred pink lining, unexpectedly like the inside of a shell. It was simply trimmed with ribbons, two tied beneath her chin in a floppy bow, the silk limp from seasons of wear. Jed knew Eliza would have been deeply unhappy to be wearing such a bonnet out but Mary seemed perfectly content. Her cheeks were rosy and her eyes bright.

“Perhaps you should be bringing an orderly or one of the boys from the yard with you on your errands? Someone to carry your packages?” Jed asked. He would see how long this moment could stretch, sweet as taffy. He had stepped closer to her now, noticing the little reticule hanging from her wrist, the expanse of her dress without its traditional pinafore.

“Oh, they couldn’t be spared! I will do well, just on my own, I think.” Jed had moved even closer, closer than would be considered polite but she did not move away.

“No, Mary, you are the one who we cannot spare,” his voice lower. Before either of them could think, he tweaked the ribbon under her chin, his fingers just grazing the soft skin there.

“Now, it is straight. Don’t take too long--” Jed said, taking a half step back and looking directly into her eyes. Mary thought to herself that her bonnet was old, but the Mary wearing it was new, la nouvelle Heloise.

**Author's Note:**

> Here's my May Day drabble for the prompt "New." I will now return to working on my latest story. For more on "La Nouvelle Heloise," see this link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julie,_or_the_New_Heloise


End file.
